Dealing with Panic

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Attempting to fight panic could only worsen your condition instead of alleviating it. It may seem counter-productive, but there is a good reason why you shouldn't do so. Read on for some helpful suggestions you can use during the onset of a panic attack.

During the onset of a panic attack, it is best if you try not to combat it. Panic is different from negative thoughts or irrational fears. Trying to go against it might only worsen your condition instead of alleviating it. At all cost, keep yourself from tensing up during a panic attack. Also, it would not do you any better if you attempt to suppress it or grit your teeth. Even though taking action is more beneficial than just being passive, combating panic still doesn't work for the best outcome for you. Below are some helpful suggestions you can try whenever you experience a panic attack.

Do not evade the symptoms. Instead, deal with them head on.

If you try your best to evade or deny a panic attack, it indicates that you are accepting your inability to face up to the situation and tackle it. More often than not, keeping it in or trying to pretend that it isn't so only causes the panic feeling to multiply, thus, making matters worse for you. A better way to deal with it would be to simply allow your body to go through the dreaded phase. As you do this, remind yourself frequently that you would be able to handle the situation since you have gone through it before.

Allow your body's natural reaction to take its course.

Whenever you attempt to ward off panic, the tendency is for your body to tense up against it. Doing this only amplifies your anxiety. The initial reaction to fear would be the expected physiological reactions of your body to panic. Second, you would instinctively make yourself become fearful of these reactions telling yourself any or all of the following assumptions: you are unable to deal with the situation, you should try to escape the situation, and you are conscious of how other people would react upon seeing you in such a situation. For the first reaction, accept that it is something way beyond your control because you just can't do anything about it. But for the second reaction, you can do away with it by merely allowing your body to go through that phase instead of succumbing to fearful reactions or fighting it.

Let the panic phase pass. Biologically, since it is triggered by a sudden surge of adrenaline, which is physical, you can still manage your reaction to it psychologically.

As much as possible allow your body to drift through this panicked phase. It should last no more than five minutes since most of the adrenaline will be metabolized and eventually be reabsorbed into your system within three to five minutes. When this takes place, your condition would naturally alleviate on its own. Remember that panic attacks are time restricted. As in most cases, the panic would escalate, reach its peak, and then ebb naturally. These would all transpire within a matter of minutes and would not get worse unless you combat it or attempt to react to it out of fear.